Hearing device incorporating user interactive auditory display

ABSTRACT

A hearing device comprises a processor configured to generate a virtual auditory display comprising a sound field, a plurality of disparate sound field zones, and a plurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic contrast between the sound field zones. The sound field zones and the quiet zones remain positionally stationary within the sound field. One or more sensors are configured to sense a plurality of inputs from the wearer. The processor is configured to facilitate movement of the wearer within the sound field in response to a navigation input received from the one or more sensors. The processor is also configured to select one of the sound field zones for playback via a speaker or actuation of a hearing device function in response to a selection input received from the one or more sensors.

RELATED PATENT DOCUMENTS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/447,735 filed on Mar. 2, 2017, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to hearing devices, including hearingaids, personal amplification devices, and other hearables.

BACKGROUND

Hearing devices can incorporate a number of electromechanical switchesand control that allow a user to interact with the hearing device.Because the switches and controls are limited in number and are oftenout of sight while wearing the hearing devices, conventional approachesto interacting with the hearing device are cumbersome and limited infunctionality.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments are directed to a method for generating a virtualauditory display by a hearing device arrangement adapted to be worn by awearer. According to some embodiments, a method involves generating, bythe hearing device arrangement, a virtual auditory display comprising asound field, a plurality of disparate sound field zones, and a pluralityof quiet zones that provide acoustic contrast between the sound fieldzones. The sound field zones and the quiet zones remain positionallystationary within the sound field. The method involves sensing an inputfrom the wearer via a sensor at the hearing device arrangement, andfacilitating movement of the wearer within the sound field in responseto a navigation input received from the sensor. The method also involvesselecting one of the sound field zones for playback to the wearer oractuation of a function by the hearing device arrangement in response toa selection input received from the sensor.

According to other embodiments, a hearing device arrangement comprises apair of hearing devices configured to be worn by a wearer. Each hearingdevice comprises a processor configured to generate a virtual auditorydisplay comprising a sound field, a plurality of disparate sound fieldzones, and a plurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic contrastbetween the sound field zones. The sound field zones and the quiet zonesremain positionally stationary within the sound field. A sensor isconfigured to sense a plurality of inputs from the wearer. The processoris configured to facilitate movement of the wearer within the soundfield in response to a navigation input received from the sensor. Theprocessor is also configured to select one of the sound field zones forplayback via a speaker or actuation of a hearing device function inresponse to a selection input received from the sensor.

The above summary is not intended to describe each disclosed embodimentor every implementation of the present disclosure. The figures and thedetailed description below more particularly exemplify illustrativeembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Throughout the specification reference is made to the appended drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an auditory display in time comprising three audioicons for the purpose of adjusting loudness in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate an auditory display in time comprising threeaudio icons for the purpose of selecting audio content for playback inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example sound field and quiet zone configurationfor a virtual auditory display in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments;

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate a process of generating sound field zones andquiet zones of an auditory display in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a rendering setup for generating a sound field of anauditory display with a quiet zone in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 9 shows a representative synthesized sound field in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 10 shows the level distribution in dB of the synthesized soundfield of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a traditional setup for measuringhead-related transfer functions (HRTFs);

FIG. 12 illustrates a strategy for obtaining a set of HRTFs taking intoaccount the relative movement of wearer with respect to a virtualloudspeaker array in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing various components of a hearingdevice that can be configured to implement an auditory display inaccordance with various embodiments; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing various components of a hearingdevice that can be configured to implement an auditory display inaccordance with various embodiments

The figures are not necessarily to scale. Like numbers used in thefigures refer to like components. However, it will be understood thatthe use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is notintended to limit the component in another figure labeled with the samenumber;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is understood that the embodiments described herein may be used withany hearing device without departing from the scope of this disclosure.The devices depicted in the figures are intended to demonstrate thesubject matter, but not in a limited, exhaustive, or exclusive sense. Itis also understood that the present subject matter can be used with adevice designed for use in or on the right ear or the left ear or bothears of the wearer.

Hearing devices, such as hearing aids and hearables (e.g., wearableearphones), typically include an enclosure, such as a housing or shell,within which internal components are disposed. Typical components of ahearing device can include a digital signal processor (DSP), memory,power management circuitry, one or more communication devices (e.g., aradio, a near-field magnetic induction device), one or more antennas,one or more microphones, and a receiver/speaker, for example. Moreadvanced hearing devices can incorporate a long-range communicationdevice, such as a Bluetooth® transceiver or other type of radiofrequency (RF) transceiver.

Hearing devices of the present disclosure can incorporate an antennaarrangement coupled to a high-frequency radio, such as a 2.4 GHz radio.The radio can conform to an IEEE 802.11 (e.g., WiFi®) or Bluetooth®(e.g., BLE, Bluetooth® 4.2 or 5.0) specification, for example. It isunderstood that hearing devices of the present disclosure can employother radios, such as a 900 MHz radio.

Hearing devices of the present disclosure are configured to receivestreaming audio (e.g., digital audio data or files) from an electronicor digital source. Representative electronic/digital sources (alsoreferred to herein as accessory devices) include an assistive listeningsystem, a TV streamer, a radio, a smartphone, a cell phone/entertainmentdevice (CPED) or other electronic device that serves as a source ofdigital audio data or files. An electronic/digital source may also beanother hearing device, such as a second hearing aid. Wireless assistivelistening systems, for example, are useful in a variety of situationsand venues where listening by persons with impaired hearing havedifficulty discerning sound (e.g., a person speaking or an audiobroadcast or presentation). Wireless assistive listening systems can beuseful at venues such as theaters, museums, convention centers, musichalls, classrooms, restaurants, conference rooms, bank teller stationsor drive-up windows, point-of-purchase locations, and other private andpublic meeting places.

The term hearing device refers to a wide variety of devices that can aida person with impaired hearing. The term hearing device also refers to awide variety of devices that can produce optimized or processed soundfor persons with normal hearing. Hearing devices of the presentdisclosure include hearables (e.g., wearable earphones, headphones,earbuds, virtual reality headsets), hearing aids (e.g., hearinginstruments), cochlear implants, and bone-conduction devices, forexample. Hearing devices include, but are not limited to, behind-the-ear(BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), invisible-in-canal (IIC),receiver-in-canal (RIC), receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) orcompletely-in-the-canal (CIC) type hearing devices or some combinationof the above. Hearing devices can also be referred to as assistivelistening devices in the context of assistive listening systems.Throughout this disclosure, reference is made to a “hearing device,”which is understood to refer to a single hearing device or a pair ofhearing devices.

Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to hearing devices thatincorporate a user interactive auditory display. The term “auditorydisplay” refers to a system that synthesizes a sound field comprisingspatial representations of separate audio signals. These spatialrepresentations can be referred to as sound field zones. Some soundfield zones are associated with a specified sound, such as speech ormusic. Some sound field zones are zones of quiet (e.g., zones lacking orsubstantially lacking sound). Some sound field zones, such as thoseassociated with a specified sound, serve as sound icons. Sound icons canbe activatable by a wearer of the hearing device, resulting in playbackof a specified sound (e.g., a song) or actuation of a function performedby or in cooperation with the hearing device. An auditory display of thepresent disclosure incorporates one or more sensors that allow a wearerof a hearing device to interact with the sound field which can presentan audio menu of sound icons. The wearer can navigate through the soundfield and select between different sound icons presented in the soundfield for purposes of playing back desired audio signals or actuatingdifferent functions of the hearing device.

According to some embodiments, an auditory display of a hearing devicearrangement is implemented as an on-demand interface. The auditorydisplay can be activated and deactivated by the wearer of the hearingdevice as desired. Activation and deactivation of the auditory displaycan be implemented in response to a user input. For example, the hearingdevice can be programmed to listen for a specified voice command (e.g.,“activate display,” “deactivate display”) and activate or deactivate theaudio display in response thereto. One or more sensors of the hearingdevice can be used to detect an activate or deactivate input from thewearer. By way of further example, nodding of the head twice in a leftdirection in quick succession can be detected by an accelerometer of thehearing device as an activation input. Nodding of the head twice in aright direction in quick succession can be detected by the accelerometeras a deactivation input.

A wearer of a hearing device often needs to adjust operation of thehearing device in the field. Existing hearing devices typically do nothave any visual display and can only afford a couple of miniaturemechanical or optical controls for user adjustment due to spacelimitations. In addition, manipulating such miniature controls onhearing devices without the ability to see the controls is challenging.As hearing device functionality becomes more complex and sophisticated,demands for more user options are increasing. Remote controls andsmartphones have been offered to meet such demands. However, suchapproaches require the wearer to carry an extra device which adds costand inconvenience. As a result, it is desirable to create a userinterface for hearing devices that does not require an extra device, iseasy to use, and supports the increasing needs for a more sophisticateduser interface.

In a traditional human-computer user interface, user options arepresented as different visual icons on a computer screen. Here, a visualicon refers to one or more visual images grouped into different zoneslogically on the screen. In contrast to visual displays, an auditorydisplay of the present disclosure presents user options in the form ofsequential or simultaneous sound icons. A sound icon refers to one ormore sounds that is/are associated with an independent spatial zone in abinaurally rendered sound field. A collection of spatially organizedsound icons can be referred to as a soundscape. A soundscape comprisinga collection of spatially organized sound icons represents an auditorydisplay according to various embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates an auditory display in accordance with variousembodiments. In FIG. 1, a wearer of a hearing device is presented withan auditory display 100 configured to facilitate user adjustment of thevolume of the device. The auditory display 100 generates a sound field101 that contains three different sound icons 102, 104, and 106. Soundicon 102 (louder), when selected, allows the wearer to increase thevolume of the hearing device. Sound icon 104 (same), when selected,allows the wearer to maintain the same volume of the hearing device.Sound icon 106 (softer), when selected, allows the wearer to decreasethe volume of the hearing device.

Each of the sound icons 102, 104, and 106 is presented at a differentspatial location (elevation, azimuth) in the sound field 101 and at adifferent time. For example, the louder icon 102 is presented at spatiallocation (45°, −90°), such that the wearer will hear the word “louder”from an upper left direction at time instant 1. At time instant 2, thesame icon 104 is presented at spatial location (45°, 0°), such that thewearer will hear the word “same” from an upper middle direction. At timeinstant 3, the softer icon 106 is presented at spatial location (45°,90°), such that the wearer will hear the word “softer” from an upperright direction. This sequence of sound icon presentation is repeateduntil the wearer responds to one of the options. In response toselecting one of the sound icon options, the hearing deviceautomatically adjusts the volume in accordance with the selected option.

The sound icons populating a sound field of an auditory display can beorganized and presented in a hierarchical manner. Some sound icons cantrigger a subset of sound icons. For example, and with reference toFIGS. 2A and 2B, an auditory display 200 is presented allowing thewearer to select between a number of different sound icons. In FIG. 2A,a top-level menu of sound icons is presented which allows the wearer toselect between a music icon 202, a weather icon 204, and a news icon206. As in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, each of thedifferent sound icons 202, 204, 206 is presented at a different spatiallocation within the sound field 201 and at a different time. In thisillustrative example, the wearer selects the music icon 202.

In response to selecting the music icon 202, a subset of music icons210, 212, and 214 is presented at different spatial locations within thesound field 201 and at different times. As shown in FIG. 2B, the subsetof music icons includes a jazz icon 210, a classical icon 212, and arock icon 214. After selecting the jazz icon 210, for example, a subsetof jazz icons can be presented in the sound field 201. For example, anumber of different jazz artists or jazz genres can be displayed forselection and actuation by the wearer. Additional icon subsets forindividual jazz songs can be presented in one or more subsequent menuspresented in the sound field 201.

A sound icon presented in a sound field can be any sound perceivable bythe wearer. For example, a sound icon can be a natural voice or asynthetic voice from a familiar or preferred person. A sound icon can bea natural or synthetic sound, such as bird sounds, ocean wave sounds,stream sounds, or computer-generated sounds. A sound icon can also bemusic. It is understood that a sound icon is not limited to the soundslisted above. In some embodiments, the preferences, favorites, and feedsfor the auditory display can be optionally synchronized with a differentdevice that cooperates with the hearing device, such as a mobile phoneor a PC with a dedicated application installed on such devices.

The arrangement of sound icons in the sound field of an auditory displaycan be implemented in an adaptive manner, such that most frequentlyselected icons are closest in terms of spatial location to the “userattention resting point” within the sound field. This way, the averagescroll effort of the wearer is minimized. The number of the sound iconsrendered in the sound field can be optimized based on the cognitive loadof the wearer. For example, the hearing device can incorporate anelectroencephalographic (EEG) sensor that can sense an EEG signal fromthe wearer. The cognitive load of the wearer can be inferred from theEEG signal and the sound icons can be arranged based on the wearer'smood inferred from the wearer's voice based on emotion detectionalgorithms. For example, if the wearer is sad, a sound icon with thewearer's favorite melancholic music can be rendered next to the wearer'scurrent position in the sound field.

To improve efficiency, the sound icons within a sound field can beselected and arranged based on the wearer's intention via one of thefollowing means: a keyword spoken by the wearer and recognized by thehearing device via automatic speech recognition; a keywordthought/imagined by the wearer and recognized by the hearing device viabrain decoding including, but not limited to, use of an EEG signal. Itis important to recognize that the above efficiency measure should beused judiciously as excessive use can result in confusions or a sense ofbeing lost.

In a traditional human-computer user interface, the user navigatesthrough the user interface by visually browsing through the differentvisual icons on the computer screen either automatically or with the aidof mouse scrolling and clicking. In accordance with various embodiments,user navigation of an auditory display is based on analyzing one or moreof a bioelectrical signal, biomechanical movement or voice command. Forexample, a wearer can navigate an auditory display by listening andrecognizing the different sound icons in the soundscape eitherautomatically with an adjustable speed or by evaluating one of thefollowing wearer inputs. One wearer input involves detection ofdeliberate eye movement or eye lid movement using an electrooculogram(EOG) signal sensed by an EOG sensor in the hearing device. Anotherwearer input involves detection of deliberate head movement via one ormore inertia sensors of the hearing device, such as an accelerometer ora gyroscope. A further wearer input involves recognition of a voicecommand from the wearer, via a microphone and voice recognitionalgorithm implemented by a processor of the hearing device. Anotherwearer input involves recognition of a command thought imagined by thewearer via brain decoding including, but not limited to, use of an EEGsensor of the hearing device.

When navigating a wearer's actual or virtual movement through a soundfield by evaluating a wearer command, it is possible to present moresound icons within the sound field in an organized way in order not tooverwhelm the wearer with too many sound icons at a given time. Forexample, an eye movement from right to left from the wearer can triggerthe presentation of another set of sound icons in the given context.

In a traditional human-computer interface, the user indicates his or herselection by pressing a key on the keyboard or implementing a mouseclick on a visual icon presented on the computer screen. The computerresponds to the user selection by providing a visual change on theselected visual icon, a sound or both. According to various embodiments,the wearer selects an option presented by the auditory display by one ofthe following means. The wearer can utter a keyword which is recognizedby the hearing device via automatic speech recognition. A keywordthought imagined by the wearer can be recognized by the hearing devicevia brain decoding including, but not limited to, use of an EEG sensorof the hearing device. Wearer selection of an option can be implementedby detection of a fixation dependent microsaccade pattern or intentionalgazes in the EOG signal produced by an EOG sensor of the hearing device.Detection of a wearer's attention can be based on an EEG signal. Moreparticularly, a wearer's EEG signal can be analyzed, frequency shifted,and filtered for equalization. The envelope of sound streams of eachsound icon can be correlated with that of the equalized EEG signal. Thesound stream with the highest correlation is selected.

Embodiments of the disclosure are directed to auditory displays thatprovide more user options not only by representing the sound spatially,e.g., binaurally, but also in manners inspired by code-, time- orfrequency-multiplexing, particularly in embodiments that use an EEGsignal. For example, two sound icons within a sound field can have thesame spatial location, but the sound content is distinguishable. Thiscan be achieved via frequency-multiplexing such that the two sound iconshave different distinct spectra (e.g., one icon is playing a male voiceand another is playing a female voice). This can be achieved viacode-multiplexing such that the two sound icons have different audiocontent (e.g., one icon is music while another is speech, or one icon isan English signal and another is a German signal). This can be achievedvia time-multiplexing such that the two sound icons are placed at thesame location but are time interleaved such that they never emit soundin the same time.

Spatializing the sound in an auditory display has recently gainedinterest. However, existing spatialization approaches are based on afree field assumption. That is, existing spatialization approaches relyon the wearer's ability to solve the “cocktail party problem” in abinaurally rendered sound field, limit the number of the wearer optionsin the auditory display, and often lead to a confusing soundscape to thewearer. For existing binaurally rendered sound sources, the residuals ofa source while facing another one is determined by the free fieldpropagation of the sources and the head scattering.

To ensure a clear and easy perception of different sound sources in thesoundscape, it is important to control the spatial extension of thesesound sources by rendering a multizone sound field and control thepotential cross-talk among different sound field zones. Embodiments ofthe disclosure are directed to synthesizing a sound field with zones ofquiet using an array of virtual loudspeakers, which is equivalent tosynthesizing a sound field with hard sound boundaries. As a result, anadjustable crosstalk capability can be achieved by varying theadmittance of the virtual boundaries of each sound field zone. Becauseonly binaural rendering is feasible in a hearable device, the soundfield synthesis can be accomplished in two steps according to variousembodiments: (1) synthesize the sound field using virtual loudspeakers;and (2) filter the virtual loudspeakers signals with a set of headrelated transfer functions (HRTF). Details of these and other processesinvolving various embodiments of an auditory display are providedhereinafter.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a representative sound fieldand quiet zone configuration for a virtual auditory display inaccordance with various embodiments. More particularly, FIG. 3graphically illustrates various features of an auditory display that aresonically perceivable by a wearer of a hearing device. According tovarious embodiments, a hearing device arrangement is configured togenerate a virtual auditory display 300 comprising a sound field 302.The sound field 302 includes a number of disparate sound field zones,sf1, sf2, and sf3. It is understood that three sound field zones areshown in FIG. 3 for purposes of illustration and not of limitation. Eachof the sound field zones, sf1, sf2, and sf3, is associated with aseparate sound, such as any of the sounds described herein. For example,one or more of the sound field zones sf1, sf2, and sf3 can be associatedwith a separate audio stream (e.g., music, speech, natural sounds,synthesized sounds) received by the hearing device via a transceiver ofthe device.

In addition to a number of different sound field zones sf1, sf2, andsf3, the sound field 302 includes a number of quiet zones (qzi,j), wherei represents the i^(th) quiet zone and j represent the j^(th) soundfield zone. In the representative embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the soundfield 302 includes two quiet zones for each of the sound field zonessf1, sf2, and sf3. In general, a sound field 302 can include N disparatesound field zones and at least N−1 quiet zones. The quiet zones (qzi,j)provide increased acoustic contrast between the sound field zones sf1,sf2, and sf3. The quiet zones can be viewed as hard sound boundariesbetween the sound field zones sf1, sf2, and sf3. As will be described ingreater detail, the sound field 302, which includes sound field zonesand quiet zones, is synthesized by the hearing device using an array ofvirtual loudspeakers. A detailed description concerning the generationof sound field zones and quiet sounds of a sound field is provided belowwith reference to FIGS. 6A-6D.

As is discussed above, FIG. 3 is a visual representation of an auditorydisplay of the present disclosure. The sound field zones sf1, sf2, andsf3 represent spatially non-interfering acoustic zones. In each soundfield zone, a sound is synthesized with individual characteristics suchas waveform propagation, (e.g., plane wave with a specific angle ofincidence), frequency range or specific content (speech, music, tonalsignals). Each sound field zone corresponds to specific audio content ora menu option. According to various embodiments, the sound field zonessf1, sf2, and sf3, and quiet zones (qzi,j) remain positionallystationary within the sound field 302. Rather than fixing the wearer atthe center of the sound field 302, the auditory display is configured tofacilitate free movement of the wearer within the sound field 302.

One or more sensors of the hearing device sense a user inputcorresponding to a navigation input or a selection input. The wearer ofthe hearing device can navigate through the sound field 302 byappropriate gestures, voice commands or thought sensed by the sensors ofthe hearing device. The wearer may select a particular sound field zoneby an appropriate gesture, voice command or thought, which activates theselected zone. The selected zone may be a menu option or a sound (e.g.,a song or verbal podcast). Accordingly, the auditory display 300 doesnot necessarily place the listener in the center of the synthesizedsound field 302 as is the case using conventional spatializationtechniques. Rather, the wearer can effectively move through (virtuallyor actually) the perspective-free sound field 302. Through navigation,the wearer chooses his or her perspective.

The auditory display 300 is implemented to expose the wearer of ahearing device to different spatial audio content with controlledacoustic contrast. The experience of the wearer when navigating thesound field 302 can be compared to the synthesis of the sound in acorridor of a music conservatorium comprising separate music rooms. Inthis illustrative scenario, the sound from each separated room is mixedwith different level and character at the listener's ear. The listenercan walk through the corridor and listen to the different playedmaterials and finally choose the room he or she prefers to enter.Choosing a room in this regard is equivalent to choosing a menu optionthat can result in selecting a specific hearing device configuration orstarting a specific activity with the hearing device, such as playing anaudio book or listening to the news.

In FIG. 3, the three sound field zones sf1, sf2, and sf3 can representthree different genres of music, such as jazz (sf1), classical (sf2),and rock (sf3). As is shown in FIG. 3, the wearer enters the sound field302 at location A. At location A, the wearer can hear each of the soundfields sf1, sf2, and sf3 at different spatial locations of the soundfield 302 and at different amplitudes based on the spatial distance ofeach zone from location A. The sounds emanating from the sound fieldzones sf1, sf2, and sf3 are spatially non-interfering with each otherdue to the presence of quiet zones (qzi,j) that provide acousticcontrast between the sound field zones sf1, sf2, and sf3. The threedifferent genres of music can be played back to the wearer sequentiallyor simultaneously. From location A, the wearer can provide a user inputto select the desired sound field zone, such as jazz sound field zonesf1.

In response to selecting the sound field zone sf1, a subset of soundicons can replace the sound field zones sf1, sf2, and sf3 in the soundfield 302. This subset of sound icons can represent different sub-genresof jazz, such as traditional, swing, smooth, West Coast, New Orleans,big band, and modern. The wearer can select a sound icon of a desiredsub-genre of jazz, and another subset of sound icons representingdifferent jazz artists can populate the sound field 302. The jazz artistsound icons may be implemented to play back the name of each jazz artistin a sequential or simultaneous manner. After selecting a desired jazzartist, sound icons for individual songs associated with the selectedjazz artist can be presented in the sound field 302. The wearer may thenselect a specific song icon for playback.

The functionality described hereinabove regarding the selection ofdesired music can be implemented for configuring the hearing device. Forexample, an initial set of sound icons for controlling differentfunctions of the hearing device can be presented in the sound field 302.The wearer can provide a user input to select a desired function, suchas volume adjustment. The sound field 302 can then be populated by soundicons that allow for the adjustment of volume, such as the icons shownin FIG. 1.

In addition to the functionality described hereinabove, the auditorydisplay 300 can be implemented to facilitate movement of the wearerwithin the sound field 302 via one or more sensors of the hearingdevice. Movement within the sound field 302 can be virtual or actual. Asthe wearer moves within the sound field 302, the wearer-perceivedamplitude and directionality of sound emanating from the sound fieldzones sf1, sf2, and sf3 is adjusted in response to the wearer'smovement. As the wearer moves from location A to location B, the soundemanating from sound field zone sf1 increases in amplitude relative tothe sound emanating from sound field zones sf2 and sf3. As the wearermoves from location B to location C, the wearer perceives a diminishmentin the amplitude of sound from sound field zone sf1, and an increase inthe amplitude of sound from sound field zones sf2 and sf3. Moving fromlocation C, the wearer decides to select the sound field zone sf2(classical), which is indicated as location D of the wearer. Additionalmenus of sound icons can then be presented in the sound field 302 inresponse to selecting the sound field zone sf2.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments. The processes shown in FIG. 4summarize those discussed above with reference to FIG. 3. The method ofFIG. 4 involves generating 402, by a wearable hearing devicearrangement, a virtual audio display having a sound field comprisingstationary sound field zones and stationary quiet zones. The methodinvolves sensing 404 an input from the wearer via a sensor of thehearing device arrangement. The method also involves facilitatingmovement 406 of the wearer within the sound field of the audio displayin response to a navigation input received from the sensor. The methodfurther involves selecting 408 one of the sound field zones for playbackto the wearer or actuation of a function in response to a selectioninput received from the sensor.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with other embodiments. The method shown in FIG. 5involves generating 502 a sound field of a virtual audio display for useby a hearing device. The method involves generating 504 N sound fieldzones of a virtual audio display, such that each sound field zone isassociated with a separate sound or audio stream. The method alsoinvolves generating 506, for each sound field zone, at least N−1 quietzones between the sound field zones. The method further involvesco-locating 508 the quiet zones with their corresponding sound fieldzones.

FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate a process of generating sound field zones andquiet zones of an auditory display in accordance with variousembodiments. FIG. 6A shows an auditory display 300 having a sound field302. The sound field 302 is designed to include three sound field zonessf1, sf2, and sf3 at the specific locations shown in FIG. 6A. FIGS.6B-6D illustrate how each of the sound field zones and associated quietzones are generated to create the three sound fields shown in FIG. 6A.The sound field and quiet zones are generated by the hearing deviceusing a virtual loudspeaker array and audio processing (via a soundprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP)) which will be describedhereinbelow.

FIG. 6B shows details concerning the generation of sound field zone sf1.The sound field zone sf1 is generated at the location shown in FIG. 6A.A first quiet zone, qz1,2, is generated at the location where the soundfield zone sf2 will be created. The number 1 after the term qz in qz1,2identifies the sound field zone whose sound is being attenuated, and thenumber 2 identifies the sound field zone where the quiet zone islocated. As such, the first quiet zone, qz1,2 is located where the soundfield zone sf2 will be created and is configured to attenuate soundemanating from the first sound field zone sf1. A second quiet zone,qz1,3, is generated at the location where the sound field zone sf3 willbe created. The second quiet zone, qz1,3 is located where the soundfield zone sf3 will be positioned and is configured to attenuate soundemanating from the first sound field zone sf1.

FIG. 6C shows details concerning the generation of sound field zone sf2.The sound field zone sf2 is generated at the location shown in FIG. 6A.A third quiet zone, qz2,1 is generated at the location of the firstsound field zone sf1. The third quiet zone, qz2,1 is configured toattenuate sound emanating from the second sound field zone sf2. A fourthquiet zone, qz2,3 is generated at the location of the third sound fieldzone sf3. The fourth quiet zone, qz2,3 is configured to attenuate soundemanating from the second sound field zone sf2.

FIG. 6D shows details concerning the generation of sound field zone sf3.The sound field zone sf3 is generated at the location shown in FIG. 6A.A fifth quiet zone, qz3,1 is generated at the location of the firstsound field zone sf1. The fifth quiet zone, qz3,1 is configured toattenuate sound emanating from the third sound field zone sf3. A sixthquiet zone, qz3,2 is generated at the location of the second sound fieldzone sf2. The sixth quiet zone, qz3,2 is configured to attenuate soundemanating from the third sound field zone sf3. The arrangement of quietzones between the sound field zones provides acoustic contrast betweenthe sound field zones of the sound field 302.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a method implemented by an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments. The method shown in FIG. 7involves generating 702, by a wearable hearing device arrangement, avirtual audio display having a sound field comprising stationary soundfield zones and stationary quiet sounds, such as those shown in FIG. 6D.The method of FIG. 7 involves synthesizing 704 binaural sound emanatingfrom the sound field zones using a set of head-related transferfunctions (HRTFs). The method involves sensing 706 an input from thewearer via a sensor of the hearing device arrangement. The method alsoinvolves facilitating 708 movement of the wearer within the sound fieldof the audio display in response to a navigation input received from thesensor. The method further involves adjusting 710 the acoustic contrastbetween the sound field zones and the quiet zones in response to wearermovement within the sound field. The method also involves selecting 712one of the sound field zones for playback to the wearer or actuation ofa function in response to a selection input received from the sensor.The method further involves by binauralizing 714 sound emanating fromthe selected sound field zone using a set of HRTFs.

FIG. 8 illustrates a rendering setup for generating a sound field of avirtual auditory display with a quiet zone in accordance with variousembodiments. Sound field synthesis techniques implemented in accordancewith the disclosure aim at controlling a sound field within a boundedregion 802 using actuators 803 at the boundary of this region. Theelements of an array that contribute to synthesize a sound field arereferred to as secondary sources 803, e.g., virtual loudspeakers.Although shown partially encircling the rendering region 802, it isunderstood that secondary sources 803 are typically distributed aroundthe entirety of the rendering region 802. The primary source is thetarget of the synthesis, e.g., a point source emitting a speech signalor an audio stream of music.

A synthetic spatially diverse sound field in a certain 2- or3-dimensional region that is bounded by a distribution of secondarysources 803, such as a circular array in the 2-dimensional case or aspherical loudspeaker array in the 3-dimensional case, can be describedby finite impulse response (FIR) filters that determine together withthe signal of the primary source by a convolution operation, the outputsignal of each loudspeaker signal. These FIR filters are called drivingfunctions and are obtained analytically or numerically by deconvolvingthe desired sound field at a certain distribution of points by theGreen's function describing the sound propagation in the renderingregion 802 between the secondary sources 803 and the desired points. InFIG. 8, the region 802 bounded by the distribution of secondary sources803 is referred to as the rendering region. The rendering region 802 cancontain several zones bounded by closed boundaries. Each zone can be asuperposition of the sound fields of several primary sources or a zoneof quiet.

A synthesized sound field can contain virtual rigid boundaries.Synthesizing a sound field under the conditions of a virtual rigidboundary within the rendering region 802 allows the creation of a zoneof quiet 804. Practically, to synthesize a sound field with zones ofquiet 804 within a rendering region 802, the pressure (P) and velocity(V) are controlled along the boundary of a desired zone of quiet 804.The velocity is described mathematically by the following equation:V{right arrow over ( )}(x{right arrow over ( )},ω)=−1/jωρgrad P(x{rightarrow over ( )},ω),where j denote the complex unity, ρ denotes the density of thepropagation medium, and ω denotes the radial frequency.

To control the velocity at a certain predefined boundary lying withinthe rendering region 802, an approximation can be made by consideringthe boundary as a two layers' boundary 806 and 808. This approximationallows the computation of the normal component of the velocity as aweighted finite difference of the pressure between the two layers 806and 808 as depicted in FIG. 8.

A virtual rigid boundary should fulfill the Neumann boundary conditionsconstraining the normal velocity to be zero. To optimally control thesound field in the non-quiet (bright) zones (e.g., a sound field zone),techniques such as local sound field synthesis can be applied.Preferably, a soft scatterer fulfilling the Dirichlet boundary conditionis virtually emulated along the desired zone.

As was discussed previously with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D, creating asound field containing non-interfering zones (e.g., sound field zones)can be done iteratively, by creating one local bright zone jointly withzones of quiet which coincide with the locations of the desired othernon-interfering bright zones. By exploiting the superposition principle,in a second iteration, the optimization goal is to create another brightzone coinciding with one of the already created quiet zones jointly withzones of quiet covering the other zones. This is repeated for eachdesired zone.

It should be noted that the synthesis of zones of quiet using2-dimensional arrays is limited to synthesizing either non-intersectingbright and quiet zones or zones of quiet which are entirely included ina bright zone. More flexibility can be achieved in a 3-dimensionalrendering setup, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 shows a synthesizedsound field and FIG. 10 shows the level distribution in dB of thesynthesized sound field of FIG. 9. In FIGS. 9 and 10, at a plane ofinterest, the bright zone 904 (the leaf-shaped sound field zone) isincluded in a zone of quiet 902. This can be achieved by simulating a3-dimensional virtual rigid scatterer with a shape of the desired zoneof quiet 902 in the x-y-plane and a limit in height (extension in thez-axis) to a length which is smaller than the array dimensions.

To auralize the synthesized diverse sound field according to variousembodiments, a set of HRTFs are used, which are measured in an anechoicchamber. As is shown in FIG. 11, a traditional HRTF measurement isobtained by either placing a loudspeaker 1106 at a predefined distancefrom a dummy head 1103 and rotating the dummy head 1103 or by rotatingthe loudspeaker 1106 along a circle 1104 whose origin coincidences withthe center of the dummy head 1103. For 3-dimensional measurements, twoaxes are typically used to obtain a virtual sphere of loudspeakers. Thiscircle (sphere) is referred to as the measurement circle (sphere).Alternatively, HRTFs can be recorded from individual listeners orcalculated from images of the listener's ear.

For purposes of explanation, a 2-dimensional setup is described withreference to FIG. 11. The measurement circle 1104 can be thought as thedistribution of the secondary sources (e.g., virtual loudspeakers) usedfor sound field synthesis. To allow the hearing device wearer to scanthe synthesized sound field from different perspectives which are notjust different due to a head rotation but also due to a translation inthe space, several measurements of HRTFs having the dummy head not onlyin the center of the measurement circle but scanning the space is neededaccording to various embodiments. This can be accomplished with a singleHRTF measurement with the dummy head 1103 in the center of themeasurement circle 1104.

Relaxing (untightening) the perspective of the wearer towards thesoundscape from the perspective of the dummy head 1103 during the HRTFmeasurement can be achieved by exploiting the fact that the sound fieldsynthesis is HRTF independent. For example, assume that a virtual soundfield can be synthesized using an array of 360 virtual loudspeakers thatencircle the sound field. A set of indexed HRTFs (e.g., a set of 360×2filters {(h1,L, h1,R), . . . , (hP,L, hP,R)}) can describe the soundpropagation from each loudspeaker on a circle indexed by {1, . . . , P}to the two microphones in the ears of the dummy head 1103, indexed by{L,R}, at a resolution of 1 degree. Having the array of 360 virtualloudspeakers provides for the synthesis of the sound of a virtual pointsource at any position in the space, which can be again achieved using aset of single-input/multiple output (SIMO) FIR filters. These filterscan be obtained using sound field synthesis techniques such aswave-field synthesis or (near-field compensated) higher-orderAmbisonics. Convolving the SIMO filters with the original HRTF datasetas a 360×2 multiple-input/multiple output (MIMO) FIR results in a 1×2SIMO filter describing a new HRTF set that describes the propagationfrom the new virtual sound source to the ears of the dummy head 1103.

As such, the soundscape synthesis can be termed HRTF independent.Moreover, a wearer movement is equivalent to a translation of theinertial system whose origin was the wearer at the initial point. Anexample of this translation is illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12illustrates the strategy of obtaining a set of HRTFs taking into accountthe relative movement of wearer (from location 1202 to 1202′) withrespect to the virtual loudspeaker array 1204. The wearer's movement isequivalent to a movement of the array 1204 in the opposite direction(from location 1206 to 1206′). The new position (1206′) of the array1204 is used to synthesize virtual loudspeakers as point sources.

Facilitating movement (untightening the perspective) of the wearerwithin the synthesized sound field involves determining the HRTF betweenthe old loudspeaker positions 1206 and the new wearer positions (e.g.,1202′). To do so, the old loudspeaker positions 1206 are synthesized aspoint sources in the translated inertial systemsingle-input/multiple-output FIR filter, which can be expressed as avector Dp of the dimension RLx1, where R is the HRTF dataset resolutionand L the required filter length of the synthesis operator. The new setof HRTF for each ear is obtained as a convolution of each filter Dp fora loudspeaker P with the original HRTF. Similarly, head rotations of thewearer are equivalent to a rotation of the array 1204 in the oppositedirection. Hence, to obtain the effect of rotating the head, the HRTFfilters' indices are circularly shifted in the opposite direction to thehead rotation.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are block diagrams showing various components of ahearing device that can be configured to implement an auditory displayin accordance with various embodiments. The block diagram of FIG. 13represents a generic hearing device for purposes of illustration. Thecircuity shown in FIG. 13 can be implemented to incorporate thecircuitry shown in FIG. 14. It is understood that a hearing device mayexclude some of the components shown in FIG. 13 and/or includeadditional components.

The hearing device 1302 shown in FIG. 13 includes several componentselectrically connected to a mother flexible circuit 1303. A battery 1305is electrically connected to the mother flexible circuit 1303 andprovides power to the various components of the hearing device 1302. Oneor more microphones 1306 are electrically connected to the motherflexible circuit 1303, which provides electrical communication betweenthe microphones 1306 and a DSP 1304. Among other components, the DSP1304 incorporates or is coupled to audio signal processing circuitryconfigured to implement an auditory display of the disclosure. In someembodiments, the DSP 1304 can incorporate the circuitry shown in FIG.14. In other embodiments, the DSP 1304 is coupled to a processor orother circuitry that incorporates the circuitry shown in FIG. 14. One ormore user switches 1308 (e.g., on/off, volume, mic directional settings)are electrically coupled to the DSP 1304 via the flexible mother circuit1303. In some embodiments, some or all of the user switches 1308 can beexcluded and their functions replaced by wearer interaction with anauditory display of the hearing device 1302.

An audio output device 1310 is electrically connected to the DSP 1304via the flexible mother circuit 1303. In some embodiments, the audiooutput device 1310 comprises a speaker (coupled to an amplifier). Inother embodiments, the audio output device 1310 comprises an amplifiercoupled to an external receiver 1312 adapted for positioning within anear of a wearer. The hearing device 1302 may incorporate a communicationdevice 1307 coupled to the flexible mother circuit 1303 and to anantenna 1309 directly or indirectly via the flexible mother circuit1303. The communication device 1307 can be a Bluetooth® transceiver,such as a BLE (Bluetooth® low energy) transceiver or other transceiver(e.g., an IEEE 802.11 compliant device). The communication device 1307can be configured to receive a multiplicity of audio streams that canserve as primary sources of a sound field synthesized in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 14 shows various components of a hearing device that cooperate toprovide a user interactive auditory display in accordance with variousembodiments. As was discussed previously, the components shown in FIG.14 can be integral to the DSP 1304 or coupled to the DSP 1304. In theexample shown in FIG. 14, an auditory display 1402 is depicted whichincludes a sound field 1404 comprising two independent sound field zones1403, sf1 and sf2. Although not explicitly shown in FIG. 14, the soundfield 1404 includes a number of quiet zones that provide acousticcontrast between the two sound field zones 1403. The perspective(location) of the hearing device wearer 1406 within the sound field 1404is also shown. The sound field 1404 is synthesized using an array ofvirtual loudspeakers 1408.

The auditory display circuitry includes a set of synthesis FIR filters1410 and a set of binauralizing FIR filters 1420. The synthesis FIRfilters 1410 include a first filter set 1412 for N independent soundfield zones 1403. The synthesis FIR filters 1410 include a second filterset 1414 for P virtual loudspeakers 1408. The binauralizing FIR filters1420 include a left (L) filter set 1422 and a right (R) filter set 1424for P virtual loudspeakers 1408. For simplicity, the number of synthesisFIR filters 1410 and binauralizing FIR filters 1420 shown in FIG. 14 isbased on connections to two of P virtual loudspeakers 1408 and two of Nsound field zones 1403. Two inputs (zl and zN) of the synthesis FIRfilters 1410 are shown, each of which receives a different primaryelectronic/digital source input (e.g., a sound, an audio stream, a voiceprompt). The input zl corresponds to the sound field zone sf1, and theinput zN corresponds to the sound field zone sf2 in this illustrativeexample. The circuitry also includes HRTF calculation circuitry 1430 anda memory of HRTF data sets 1432. A wearer is shown wearing a hearingdevice arrangement 1440 which includes left (L) and right (R) speakers.Although the hearing device arrangement 1440 is illustrated as aheadset, it is understood that the hearing device arrangement 1440represents any kind of hearable device (e.g., left and right hearinginstruments or hearables).

The target sound field 1404 has N independent sound field zones 1403described by a MIMO system of the size of N inputs and P outputs. Ineach of the sound field zones 1403, specific audio material which isrepresented as a mono audio channel can be played independently of theother sound field zones 1403. The sound field 1404 describing theauditory display 1402 is synthesized by filtering the N mono channelswith the MIMO filter of the size N×P obtaining P virtual loudspeakerchannels. P is also the number of the virtual loudspeakers used duringthe HRTF measurement via the HRTF calculation circuit 1430. Hence, theHRTF data set 1432 is described by a MIMO system with P inputs and 2outputs.

According to the wearer's position in the space, which can be inferredusing localization algorithms (e.g., audio based localization of themicrophones in the hearing device), a new dataset of HRTF is calculatedaccording to the methods described hereinabove. Additionally, accordingto the wearer's head orientation, which can be obtained by dedicatedsensors (e.g., accelerometer and a gyroscope integrated in the hearingdevice), the indices of the synthesized HRTF is circularly shiftedaccordingly and the P original virtual loudspeaker channels are filteredwith the new calculated HRTF offering 2 signals which are finallyrepresented to the wearer as left and right ear signals via the hearingdevice arrangement 1440.

This document discloses numerous embodiments, including but not limitedto the following:

-   Item 1 is a method implemented by a hearing device arrangement    adapted to be worn by a wearer, the method comprising:

generating, by the hearing device arrangement, a virtual auditorydisplay comprising a sound field, a plurality of disparate sound fieldzones, and a plurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic contrastbetween the sound field zones, the sound field zones and the quiet zonesremaining positionally stationary within the sound field;

sensing an input from the wearer via one or more sensors at the hearingdevice arrangement;

facilitating movement of the wearer within the sound field in responseto a navigation input received from the one or more sensors; and

selecting one of the sound field zones for playback to the wearer oractuation of a function by the hearing device arrangement in response toa selection input received from the one or more sensors.

-   Item 2 is the method of item 1, wherein generating comprises:

generating N disparate sound field zones; and

generating at least N−1 quiet zones.

-   Item 3 is the method of item 1, wherein facilitating wearer movement    comprises facilitating virtual or actual movement of the wearer    within the sound field.-   Item 4 is the method of item 1, wherein generating the virtual    auditory display comprises simultaneously or sequentially playing    back sound from each of the sound field zones.-   Item 5 is the method of item 1, comprising adjusting    wearer-perceived amplitude and directionality of sound emanating    from the sound field zones in response to movement of the wearer    within the sound field.-   Item 6 is the method of item 1, comprising binauralizing sound    emanating from the sound field zones using a set of head related    transfer functions (HRTFs).-   Item 7 is the method of item 6, comprising:

synthesizing the sound field using virtual loudspeakers;

wherein the set of HRTFs are calculated based on synthesizing thevirtual loudspeakers.

-   Item 8 is the method of item 1, wherein the one or more sensors are    configured to sense movement of one or both of the wearer's head and    body.-   Item 9 is the method of item 1, wherein the one or more sensors    comprise one or both of an electrooculographic (EOG) sensor and an    electroencephalographic (EEG) sensor.-   Item 10 is the method of item 1, wherein at least some of the sound    field zones are associated with a separate audio stream.-   Item 11 is the method of item 1, comprising wirelessly receiving a    plurality of audio streams from one or more sources.-   Item 12 is the method of item 1, further comprising selectively    activating and deactivating the virtual auditory display in response    to a voice command or an input received from the one or more    sensors.-   Item 13 is an apparatus, comprising:

a pair of hearing devices configured to be worn by a wearer, eachhearing device comprising:

-   -   a processor configured to generate a virtual auditory display        comprising a sound field, a plurality of disparate sound field        zones, and a plurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic        contrast between the sound field zones, the sound field zones        and the quiet zones remaining positionally stationary within the        sound field;    -   one or more sensors configured to sense a plurality of inputs        from the wearer, the processor configured to facilitate movement        of the wearer within the sound field in response to a navigation        input received from the one or more sensors; and    -   a speaker;    -   wherein the processor is configured to select one of the sound        field zones for playback via the speaker or actuation of a        hearing device function in response to a selection input        received from the one or more sensors.

-   Item 14 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the processor is    configured to generate N disparate sound field zones and at least    N−1 quiet zones.

-   Item 15 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the processor is    configured to facilitate virtual or actual movement of the wearer    within the sound field in response to the navigation input received    from the one or more sensors.

-   Item 16 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein:

the processor is operable in a navigation mode and a selection mode;

the processor is configured to simultaneously or sequentially play backsound from each of the sound field zones via the speaker in thenavigation mode; and

the processor is configured to play back sound from the selected soundfield zone via the speaker or actuate a hearing device function in theselection mode.

-   Item 17 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the processor is    configured to adjust wearer-perceived amplitude and directionality    of sound emanating from the sound field zones in response to    movement of the wearer within the sound field.-   Item 18 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the processor is    configured to binauralize sound emanating from the sound field zones    using a set of head related transfer functions (HRTFs).-   Item 19 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein:

the sound field is synthesized using virtual loudspeakers; and

the set of HRTFs are calculated based on synthesizing the virtualloudspeakers.

-   Item 20 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the processor is    configured to modify a set of filters for adjusting the acoustic    contrast between the sound field zones and the quiet zones in    response to movement of the wearer within the sound field.-   Item 21 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the one or more sensors    are configured to sense movement of one or both of the wearer's head    and body.-   Item 22 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the one or more sensors    comprise one or both of an electrooculographic (EOG) sensor and an    electroencephalographic (EEG) sensor.-   Item 23 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein at least some of the    sound field zones are associated with a separate audio stream    received by a wireless transceiver of the hearing device.-   Item 24 is the apparatus of item 13, wherein the virtual auditory    display is configured for selective activation and deactivation in    response to a voice command received by a microphone of the hearing    device or an input received by the processor from the one or more    sensors.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asrepresentative forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented by a hearing devicearrangement worn by a wearer, the method comprising: generating, by thehearing device arrangement, a virtual auditory display comprising asound field containing a plurality of disparate sound field zones and aplurality of quiet zones that provide acoustic contrast between thesound field zones, wherein each sound field zone is associated with aquiet zone coinciding with a location of other sound field zones;sensing an input from the wearer via one or more sensors at the hearingdevice arrangement; facilitating movement of the wearer within the soundfield in response to a navigation input received from the one or moresensors; and selecting one of the sound field zones for playback to thewearer or to actuate a function by the hearing device arrangement inresponse to a selection input received from the one or more sensors. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the quiet zones define hard soundboundaries between the sound field zones.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the sound field zones and the quiet zones remain positionallystationary within the sound field.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereingenerating comprises: generating N disparate sound field zones; andgenerating at least N−1 quiet zones.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinfacilitating wearer movement comprises facilitating virtual or actualmovement of the wearer within the sound field.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein generating the virtual auditory display comprises simultaneouslyor sequentially playing back sound from each of the sound field zones.7. The method of claim 1, comprising adjusting wearer-perceivedamplitude and directionality of sound emanating from the sound fieldzones in response to movement of the wearer within the sound field. 8.The method of claim 1, comprising binauralizing sound emanating from thesound field zones using a set of head related transfer functions(HRTFs).
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors areconfigured to sense movement of one or both of the wearer's head andbody.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensorscomprise one or both of an electrooculographic (EOG) sensor and anelectroencephalographic (EEG) sensor.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinat least some of the sound field zones are associated with a separateaudio stream.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectivelyactivating and deactivating the virtual auditory display in response toa voice command or an input received from the one or more sensors. 13.An apparatus, comprising: a pair of hearing devices configured to beworn by a wearer, each hearing device comprising: a processor configuredto generate a virtual auditory display comprising a sound fieldcontaining a plurality of disparate sound field zones and a plurality ofquiet zones that provide acoustic contrast between the sound fieldzones, wherein each sound field zone is associated with a quiet zonecoinciding with a location of other sound field zones; one or moresensors configured to sense an input from the wearer, the processorconfigured to facilitate movement of the wearer within the sound fieldin response to a navigation input received from the one or more sensors;and a speaker; wherein the processor is configured to select one of thesound field zones for playback via the speaker or to actuate a hearingdevice function in response to a selection input received from the oneor more sensors.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the quiet zonesdefine hard sound boundaries between the sound field zones.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the sound field zones and the quiet zonesremain positionally stationary within the sound field.
 16. The apparatusof claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to generate N disparatesound field zones and at least N−1 quiet zones.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the processor is configured to facilitate virtual oractual movement of the wearer within the sound field in response to thenavigation input received from the one or more sensors.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein: the processor is operable in anavigation mode and a selection mode; the processor is configured tosimultaneously or sequentially play back sound from each of the soundfield zones via the speaker in the navigation mode; and the processor isconfigured to play back sound from the selected sound field zone via thespeaker or actuate a hearing device function in the selection mode. 19.The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to adjustwearer-perceived amplitude and directionality of sound emanating fromthe sound field zones in response to movement of the wearer within thesound field.
 20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor isconfigured to binauralize sound emanating from the sound field zonesusing a set of head related transfer functions (HRTFs).
 21. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to modify aset of filters for adjusting the acoustic contrast between the soundfield zones and the quiet zones in response to movement of the wearerwithin the sound field.
 22. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the oneor more sensors are configured to sense movement of one or both of thewearer's head and body.
 23. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the oneor more sensors comprise one or both of an electrooculographic (EOG)sensor and an electroencephalographic (EEG) sensor.
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein at least some of the sound field zones are associatedwith a separate audio stream received by a wireless transceiver of thehearing device.
 25. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the virtualauditory display is configured for selective activation and deactivationin response to a voice command received by a microphone of the hearingdevice or an input received by the processor from the one or moresensors.